We Are Family
by White Wolf Fan Fiction
Summary: This is an Avengers Collection of Ficlets and will contain multiple pairings including: Stony, Thorki, Clint/Bruce Clint/Phil, Natasha/Pepper, possible oc pairings, and possibly pseudo/brotp Clintasha. Ficlet information will be inside, but I warn you now: there are oc's in this and one oc in particular that is featured more-so than not as the main character. (Marked as complete.)
1. Choose

White Wolf Fan Fiction Presents:

~We Are Family~

An Avengers Collection

* * *

 **Title:** We Are Family

 **Pairings:** Steve/Tony; Thor/Loki; Possible Natasha/Pepper; Possible Phil/Clint or Bruce/Clint; Logan/Remy from X-Men; and possible oc pairings later with Lionel or Mark or Freya and other oc's.

 **Disclaimer:** I actually used a word generator for most of these, but uh... plot still kinda belongs to me? Also, I own Lionel, my Avengers oc, and I am borrowing my ex-friends character Mark since she had given me permission before our 'break-up' to use him for whatever story ideas I had. My best friend Amber is who owns Freya though, kinda. I made her character but she got the idea for her.

 **A/N:** These are not really in any particular order, they're just written randomly and as I come up with things to write for the words I'm given. None of these will probably be related to another and if they are, I might mention so in the summary.

-0-

 **Words:** 1,034

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Fluff, hurt/comfort, a bit of angst, and minor mentions of Yaoi (Boy Love).

 **Summary:** Lionel is forced to choose who he wants to save and wonders if he made the right choice or not. (Choose)

* * *

Lionel didn't know how it got to this point; with the team fighting for their lives, _again_ , to save the city and stop giant robots from destroying everything in their path. This time, however, they were fighting strange, giant metal animals with a hell of a temper and very hard bodies and things weren't looking so hot for them.

And Lionel had thought, for once in their lives, that they would finally get a day of peace and quiet back at the tower. Oh how wrong he'd been.

Mark was now in his firebird form, trying to burn a large metal mammoth. Clint and Natasha were taking care of a small band of metal monkeys that were destroying everything in one of the shops. Thor and Loki were fighting a few giant metal bears, turning them to ice with Loki's magic before striking them with Thor's hammer. Bruce was smashing his way through many little metal crab bots. Logan and Remy were dealing with huge metal crocodiles. Tony was blasting through thousands of tiny little metal birds. Steve was currently trying to take on a massive metal rhino and Lionel... Lionel was currently changing forms between a wolf, a raptor, and a dragon, trying to get the best of the giant metal wild cats that were nearly backing him into a wall.

Finally taking off into the air, Lionel blew a massive funnel of fire at the cats, trying to slow them down one way or another and barreled out of the way when on of them tried jumping at him. He managed to dodge that one but another jumped up latched its claws into his back, causing him to roar out in pain.

 _"Hang on Shadow!"_ Loki called into the mic, as he left Thor to handle the bears and the Trickster God used his magic to help Lionel out, blasting the cats with shards of ice and creating illusions that confused them greatly. Lionel shook his fur and ruffled his wings before shifting, falling to ground and landing on his feet as a wolf, barking gratefully at the God. With the cats occupied for now, Lionel and Loki went around to help the other Avengers, and the two other Mutes.

 _"Fuck! I need some help over here!"_ Tony shouted into the mic and Lionel skidded to a halt, eyes wide, when he heard how strained the other sounded. _Oh no!_ He shifted back into a dragon and took off into the air, noting that Loki had gone back to help his brother when he'd seen one of the bears knock Thor back into a building, nearly making the weak structure crumble with the force of the blow. Lionel turned his attention back towards where he'd seen Tony and he puffed out a breath that sounded slightly panicked even to him before taking off towards him, but he froze, when he saw something that made his heart stop: Remy was lying on the ground, bruised and broken, a crocodile closing in on him while Logan was currently trying to take out another one.

 _"Remy!"_ Lionel shouted into the mic, alerting everyone. It was then that he realized something that made him whimper: both Tony and Remy needed his help, but he couldn't help both of them at the same time. He had to choose, and he had to choose now. Looking back and forth between the two heroes, Lionel finally made up his mind and he took off, as quick as lightning. He let out a sharp, loud, and dangerous roar before swooping in, snatching up the heavy crocodile in his claws and he flew high into the sky, ignoring the painful thrashing and clawing as the creature tried to escape. _Come on, come on..._ he thought, closing his eyes tightly, holding his breath as his heart raced a mile a minute and finally he came to a halt in the air before roaring out once more, letting the crocodile go and watching as it plummeted into the ground.

The crocodile crashed, creating a giant crater of broken concrete and Lionel let out a soft breath when he realized, after a few moments, that the crocodile wasn't moving anymore.

Flying down to the ground, Lionel shifted into a bear, grabbed Remy, threw him onto his back, and then raced back towards the tower.

-0-

Replacing the cloth on Remy's forehead, Lionel let out a soft sigh, his ears laid back against his head and he frowned, guilt eating him from the inside out. He'd left the others behind to get Remy to safety and right now, he wasn't at all sure if he made the right choice.

His ears perked up and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the elevator doors open and he stood up the moment he saw Tony enter the room, followed by the others, who all looked worn out and exhausted and his guilt only got worse. "I'm sorry-!" He immediately started to say, but was cut off when Logan pushed past him, kneeling down beside Remy.

"Fuck, he's okay, Remy's alright..." he let out a heavy breath and Lionel turned to him, ears lowered once more.

"Y-yes, I... I saw him and I... oh but I... I left you guys behind..." he started tearing up but then saw Tony and he closed his eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to help but Remy was just... he was... and the crocodile...!"

"Hey, hey! Kid, slow down before you have a heart attack," Tony frowned, walking up to him.

"But-"

"It's okay," Steve said, rather than having Tony speak up, and Cap ruffled the shifters hair. "You made the right choice." He added, soft and gentle, but oh-so-sure.

Lionel couldn't believe his ears, as the others all spoke around him, checking on Remy, talking about the battle, and telling Lionel what Steve had, only just in different words. Logan stood up then and smiled at Lionel, "Thanks Leo," he said and Lionel practically purred, his mood lifting and his guilt gone, "if not for you, Remy'd be a goner and for that, I owe ya big. So, good job," he chuckled, "kid."

Lionel only smiled in answer.


	2. Mountain

**Words:** 1,271

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Fluff, hurt/comfort, minor humor, and mentions of Yaoi (Boy Love).

 **Summary:** The Avengers tower is never short of any type of food. (Mountain)

* * *

When it came to the residents of Stark Tower, there was no shortage of food... ever. Whether it be popcorn for movies, poptarts, sweets, or just food in general, they never ran out, but of course, Steve and Lionel always found themselves going out shopping ever two or three days; which might've explained why they never ran out, and with Tony's never ending supply of money, they had no trouble getting even more food to stock at the tower.

-0-

Lionel let out a loud laugh, walking with Tony to the kitchen. "Come on, you love it, you can't deny it." Lionel teased, smirking at the older brunette and Tony blushed, huffing as he looked away, his hands in his pockets.

"Why did I ever even think it was a good idea to talk to you about this in the first place?" He grumbled and Lionel let his smirk diminish to an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Tony, but, I really don't understand why you're complaining... Steve is a wonderful guy," he let himself trail off when they reached the kitchen and he stared, wide-eyed at the table, which currently had a mountain of poptarts upon it, some dangerously close to falling onto the ground.

"Yeah, well... he just... it's complicated, I guess..." Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before pausing when he looked at the wide-eyed Mute. "Lionel...?" He questioned, confused for a moment until he followed the others gaze and his jaw dropped for only a moment, when he saw the table. He was soon bursting into laughter, nearly doubling over, when one of the poptart boxes fell to the floor and Thor appeared seemingly out of nowhere, popping up from behind the giant pile of poptarts.

"Hello Leo, Stark," Thor grinned at them, munching on an already opened package of poptarts.

"Thor..." Lionel began slowly, his red gaze lifting up to Thor's own blue. "Why is there a mountain of poptarts... on the table?"

"We were out," he said, as if that would explain everything, but luckily, before Lionel could ask for a better explanation, he heard a heavy sigh from behind him and he turned around, to see Loki sitting on the couch in the main living room, his glasses on as he read his book.

"Thor was upset that we were out of the iced pastries and he asked Steven if he could go get more." The trickster said, looking up and glaring at Thor, "The bumbling moron couldn't decide on which flavor to get so he got them all." This only had Tony laughing harder, collapsing onto the floor as Lionel facepalmed, deflating a little.

"There are so many interesting flavors! Brother, you must have one! Oh you absolutely have to try them with me!" Thor ranted and Loki only stared at him before going back to his book as Lionel stepped over Tony and he offered Thor a small, apologetic smile.

"Come on Thor, let's put all of these away somewhere, before the others get home, okay?" Thor almost nearly pouted at him, frowning, before Lionel quickly added, "We can always try some of them later, I promise." Thor's response was immediate as he nodded, a wide grin back on his face and he started helping Lionel put as many of the poptarts away before hiding the rest in Thor's room.

-0-

"Hey! Stop hogging all of the popcorn!" Mark scowled at Clint when the other man tried taking the bowl.

"I'm not the one who has the damn bowl in my lap!" Clint barked back, glaring at the Phoenix. Lionel sighed softly, shaking his head as he looked at Steve, who looked just as exasperated as the Mute felt.

"They do realize we have a ton more popcorn, right?" Lionel mumbled and Steve chuckled, grabbing two more bowls before nodding his head and Lionel smiled, grabbing the last one and he followed suit. When they got to the room, Steve set the bowls he had on the table, taking the one from Mark with only a single 'hey!' of protest and he situated them so all three were easily reachable by everyone. Lionel only sat down with his own bowl of popcorn, sticking his tongue out when Tony and Mark tried stealing some.

"No fair! Why does he get his own!?" Mark complained and Lionel laughed and shook his head, "Come on, share some, will ya?"

"I popped this popcorn myself, so Steve said this bowl is mine. Fair and square." He purred and munched happily on the buttery snack, watching the movie. He didn't even flinch when Loki decided to reach over, stealing a few from his bowl and they both shared an identical smirk when Mark and Clint complained some more.

"Oh just shut up and watch the damn movie or I'm taking all the popcorn myself," Tony snapped, glaring at the two bird-brains and Steve chuckled, hugging the brunette to him without a word when Clint and Mark both scowled back at him.

"Whatever..." Mark huffed, and it was quiet for about half the movie until the two started fighting over one of the bowls of popcorn once again.

-0-

Lionel let out a soft content sigh, taking a bite of a very sugary cookie, licking his lips as he used his other hand to mess with the controller, his attention kept upon the tv in front of him. He sat on the floor, with several plates and bowls of sugary and chocolaty sweets placed all around him: one plate of different cookies, another of brownies that Steve had made earlier, a bowl of M&M pieces, another bowl of chocolate fudge that he occasionally dipped a cookie into, and one last plate of cinnamon rolls and donuts. Half of a few of the plates were already gone, eaten by the Mute throughout the several hours that he's been sitting there, playing his game.

Lionel's ears twitched, a cookie hanging from his mouth, when he heard footsteps, but he barely even looked up from where he was, only making a small noise when the person spoke. "Lionel? What are you doing out here, still awake?" Loki questioned, letting out a small yawn and Lionel nearly choked on his cookie, pausing his game as he turned to the God.

"L-Loki...!? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" His ears were laid back against his head, but his tail quivered and twitched beside him, the soft noise of his game's music in the background.

"I was, but I needed a drink..." the God replied, eyes narrowed as he looked around at the sweets and then at the game. He crossed his arms and looked back at the guilty Mute, "how long, exactly, were you planning on staying up?" Lionel never answered, only looking down, fiddling with his tail. "How often do you stay up all night like this?" Loki asked, walking over to him, a soft sigh leaving his lips and Lionel shrugged. "Why don't you ever tell any of us?"

"It's not a big deal, really," Lionel said, looking up when Loki sat down, after moving the plate of cookies in front of him. What he said though, spoke volumes of how often this happened, and Loki understood, when Lionel looked at him in confusion. "Loki...?"

The God only shook his head, taking a few M&M's before taking up the controller and he un-paused the game. "How do you play this infernal game?" He scowled when the character on the screen died, only a minute later, and Lionel only smiled, not saying a word as he showed the other how to play.


	3. Accident

**Words:** 529

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Humor, minor fluff.

 **Summary:** It's Lionel's first time going down to the lab and he is terrified. Tony isn't helping much either but luckily Jarvis is always there to save the day. Figuratively speaking, of course. (Accident)

* * *

Lionel made a small noise, partly in curiosity, partly in fear, red eyes wide as he looked at the doors to the lab in front of him. His ears lowered and he curled his tail around his leg, gripping the sides of the plate in his hands tightly as he hesitantly spoke up. "J-Jarvis, may I please come inside the lab?" He barely got out in something that wasn't necessarily a squeak.

"Of course Master Lionel," he said and the Mute frowned when he heard the 'Master' part. _I'm not anyone's master... I'm more like the pet..._ he thought dejectedly.

The glass door slid open with a hiss and Lionel's fear returned, anxious to go into the lab. Tony always told him he was welcome, of course, like Steve was too, but... he became too scared to go down here after he heard Tony nearly explode when Mark went into the lab once without permission. Tony's frightening when furious. "U-uh... T-tony?" Lionel called out, cautiously going into the 'lair' and he blinked, surprised, jaw dropping when he saw all the incredible gadgets all around. Many suits were also lying around or put onto pedestals for later use.

"W'vat?" The Mute heard the muffled voice and he almost giggled, walking over to a desk and he set the plate onto the surface. He was about to answer when he heard a small whirring behind him and he gasped, startled, turning around only to be met with the strangest of little bots.

"Oh? Well aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Lionel cooed, ears twitching and his tail flicked out from side to side. He reached out to touch the bot but jumped, letting out a frightened yelp when something exploded behind him. "Tony!?" he shouted, eyes wide, whirling around immediately, only to watch as a soot covered brunette emerge from beneath a machine of some sort.

"Yeah, yeah..." he coughed and waved away some smoke that surrounded him, coughing again. "I'm fine," he then smirked as he sat up, wiping his face with an already dirty cloth, and he looked up at the frightened Mute. "So... your first time down in the lab, how do you like it?" Lionel looked at the machine and then back at Tony.

"Do uh... does that happen... a lot?"

"What? Oh that? Nah... it just-"

"Master Lionel, if I may," Jarvis interrupted the brunette, much to Tony's aggravation, "there are constant explosions within the lab almost every night. The rate of accidents that follow the explosions are few in percentage." He supplied and somehow this calmed Lionel down a bit more than anything Tony could've said would, he was sure.

"Thanks, Jarvis," Lionel said, sighing softly before nodding to the desk. "Steve made you a sandwich and he told me to tell you to come back up before midnight, so you don't end up sleeping down here again." And with that, Lionel turned, pet the robot, and then promptly left, leaving behind a very stunned Anthony Stark.

It was a few moments before Tony huffed and he looked at the bot, "Traitor," to which the bot only made a small whirring noise in response.


	4. Patience

**Words:** 2,719

 **Rating:** T+

 **Warnings:** Fluff, minor barely there hurt/comfort, light humor, and light Yaoi (Boy Love).

 **Summary:** It's Christmas. And you all know what that means: time spent with your family and loved ones, amazing food cooked by the amazing Steve, and of course presents. And everyone seems to be surprised when they discover it is a certain little Mutant's very first Christmas. (Patience)

* * *

Lionel stared wide-eyed at the calendar that Tony was putting up onto the living room wall. He didn't know what for, since he didn't think they ever need to mark down important dates, but he knew almost immediately what it was for when he saw the date circled in thick red sharpie. _December 25th..._ Lionel's eyes only got wider and he stared at Tony, mostly in disbelief.

The brunette only shrugged, "What?" raised an eyebrow, "I always forget about Christmas so Steve told me to put up a calendar as a reminder," rolled his eyes, "Heh, leave it up to the Cap to be a sentimental mom." and snickered, before promptly choking on his laughter when Clint walked into the room.

"Oh please, if anyone's the mom, it's you Tony." The hawk smirked at the other before giving a smile to the still wide-eyed Mute, going to the kitchen afterwards to get himself a drink.

"Hey uh... what's up with you, huh Lionel?" Mark questioned, having followed Clint with the intent of bugging the other bird, but he paused, leaning up against the wall, when he saw Lionel's expression.

"Christmas...?" Lionel questioned, finally frowning and he looked around at the three others in the room.

Mark snorted and rolled his eyes, "Oh gods, it's that time of year already? Damn it, another month of avoiding the stores and hiding in my room."

"Oh come on," Steve hummed, entering the room, just to come get his lover, "Christmas isn't that bad Markus. It's supposed to be a time for everyone to get together with their families and celebrate what they have with each other."

"Don't forget about the presents." Clint smirked, swirling the milk in his glass around a bit.

Tony huffed out a laugh, finally getting over the comment Clint made earlier and he smiled wryly at Steve, "You just want an excuse to have everyone together-" Steve cut him off with a kiss and a chuckle.

"Maybe so, but it doesn't hurt to spend a little time together with the ones I call family, now does it?"

"I suppose not..." Tony sighed softly and turned back to the others. "Lionel?"

"Y-you mean... I get to... but I..." finding himself void of the right words, he looked at Steve with wide eyes and bounced up and off the back of the couch. "W-we really get to do something for Christmas!?" he squeaked, ears upright and his tail flicking violently back and forth, almost hitting Mark and successfully hitting Clint in the stomach.

"Ow! Hey! Watch the tail, man!" Clint muttered and hit Mark in the shoulder when the Phoenix snickered.

"Of course," Steve only smiled in return, rubbing at the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He wasn't quite used to Lionel being this close to anyone, let alone him.

Almost immediately Lionel's eyes widened even further and he grinned wide, his canines glinting in the light and he bounced up and down. "Y-yes! I can't believe it! Christmas!" He dashed over to the calendar, eyes still wide, and he was oblivious to the strange looks sent at him from the others. "Twenty four days till Christmas!" He gasped then and took the calendar, dashing off, spouting off as he went. "I have to get presents for everyone! And decorations too!"

"W-what!? Lionel!" Tony called after him, frowning in utter confusion. "I already have decorations..." he muttered and then sighed when he realized that the Mute was already gone.

"Damn, what the hell was that all about?" Clint blinked and Mark snickered.

"He's acting like this is his first Christmas." As soon as he said that, everyone went quiet and he gaped, eyes wide in disbelief. "Wait... what if it is!?"

-0-

 _Twenty one days left..._ Lionel scratched off another day, bubbling with excitement once again when he saw that there were only twenty one days left until Christmas and he bounced over to his bed, opening his notebooks and he wrote something down, biting at the tip of the pen as he thought. "'kay presents... what would everyone want? Oh! I'd need wrapping paper first!" He scratched that down on the paper and then continued to think of what to get each of his friends, his family. "I need one for all of the Avengers... and even Fury!" He giggled and gasped then, eyes wide and he purred with the thought. "I should send Remy and Logan one too!"

-0-

 _Nineteen days left..._ Lionel shivered as he walked down the sidewalk, to the mall. He was determined to get presents for everyone, even if he'd have to force his way around everyone else. Of course, he didn't have a problem shifting into an elephant or a bear or something and going through the mall like that.

He laughed at the thought and shook his head before pausing when he saw a little booth. He grinned wide and bounced over to his, tail swishing from side to side, unhidden thanks to having forgotten his cloak, but at least no one cared anymore, since people knew who he was after saving them so many times. _I've never seen one place get into trouble so many times... it's a wonder the cities is still so full of life_.

He bought the first presents of the day and swung the bag around happily, almost twirling about, but he stopped himself before he could hurt himself or someone else. Eventually, he made his way to the mall area and he went thought, going to _every store_ he saw. He thought long and hard about everything and eventually came to a decision of what to get everyone in his family, _including_ Fury.

-0-

 _Twelve days left..._ Lionel thought as he scratched out another day before skipping out of his room, humming traditional Christmas songs. Coming out into the living room, he purred when he saw Loki, Thor, Clint, Mark, and Natasha sitting around. Clint and Mark were debating something; Natasha was watching tv; and Thor was trying to follow both what was on the tv and what Clint and Mark's conversation was about while trying to simultaneously try and read Loki's book.

"Heh, hi guys!" Lionel purred, sitting down beside Loki, intentionally pushing the Thunder God away so he could, sticking his tongue out when Thor pouted at him.

"Can't you sit in your own chair, Lionel? It is perfectly vacant, you know?" Thor huffed and Lionel giggled, shaking his head.

"I know that," he hummed and turned his attention to Loki's book, "hi Loki." He smiled in greeting and his ears perked up when Loki smiled back, glancing at him with a hint of amusement.

"Hello Lionel," Loki chuckled.

It was silent for a moments until Tony came into the room and he smirked at Lionel, making his way to the kitchen before singing out, "On the first day of Christmas my pet cat gave to me~" he laughed after when Lionel made a noise similar to a childish whine, glaring petulantly at the brunette. "So, what's up fluffy face?"

"Don't call me fluffy face," Lionel huffed, "and I'm not a cat, nor am I your pet cat."

"No, right, you're Loki's pet cat!" Tony snickered and Lionel whined once more, before Loki interrupted them.

"If he's my pet, then I have the right to give him permission to attack you." Lionel made a face at that, but he delighted in watching Tony sputter out some pathetic excuse.

"W-what!? No! That's abuse!" His only answer was laughter from the others.

-0-

 _Nine days left..._ "Oh please! Steve! I'll do anything I promise I will! Can we just... please... go shopping for the Christmas Dinner?" Lionel pleaded and Steve shot him a curious glance.

"Why?" He asked, as he made beef stew for tonight's dinner. "We have everything we need here, I made sure to get what we needed."

"But... but..." Lionel tried and looked down, squirming. What excuse could he make up? _Oh! I know!_ "W-what about that really sweet desert cake that Mark and Clint like, or the special salad dressing that Natasha always gets... or what about pudding mix so everyone can have pudding too!?" he grinned, practically bouncing on his feet and Steve chuckled, setting down the ladle he was using before covering the pot and he sighed, wiping his hands on the apron he was wearing.

"Alright Lionel, you win," he smiled and Lionel clapped his hands together. "But," the blonde said sternly, "we have to be back in at least an hour so I can check on the soup, understand?" Lionel purred as he nodded before bouncing off to get ready, followed by the slightly amused ex-soldier.

-0-

 _Four days left... I can't believe that it's only a few days away...!_ Lionel let out a heavy breath, shaking his head and he smiled nervously at the counter. _I'm getting nervous... what if they don't like what I got them all...?_ He frowned then and let himself relax, a chuckle leaving his lips as he smiled again, looking at his closet. "No, of course they'll like them... I know they will..." he murmured.

-0-

 _Christmas Eve... just one day left! I can get through this day! I can...!_ Lionel pushed himself away from the calendar before making his way back out to the living room, his eyes positively glowing when he saw all the decorations. Everyone was in the living room, though Loki and Clint were asleep; Loki in Thor's lap on one of the chairs and Clint on the back of the couch. "W-what...?" He breathed out, eyes wide and he looked at everyone. "Y-you guys..."

"Hey, we thought we'd give you an early Christmas present," Mark hummed, chuckling a little.

"But you... I thought..." he pouted and Tony yawned, shaking his head.

"Quit complaining, fluffy face," he snickered, "just be happy that we even-" he cut himself off when Lionel smiled, bouncing over to him and hugging him, before going over to admire the tree.

"I can put my presents under here now!" Lionel giggled before racing out of the room and to his own, to go grab the presents.

-0-

 _Only two hours left..._ Lionel let out a low whine in his throat, staring at the ham on the counter. Everyone was awake now, all sitting and talking in the living room. It was ten o'clock at night, so they only had about two hours left until Christmas, but no one knew what Lionel was planning. The ham was almost ready to eat, just a few more minutes, but the Mute didn't think he could wait long enough.

"Be patient Leo," Steve chuckled, grabbing out plates for everyone and he got everything else ready as the ham cooled down for the final few minutes, "go on and pick out a movie, alright?" Lionel nodded immediately and he made his way over to the living room, where the movie cases were and he looked through them, deciding to pick one of the cliché Christmas ones to watch and he plopped it into the tv player.

Finally, dinner was ready, everyone was quiet for the most part, and the movie was playing. But the entire time, Lionel was watching the clock, his breath catch every time the minute changed and he felt like he would explode if midnight didn't come any sooner.

-0-

 _It's Christmas..._ Lionel thought, staring wide-eyed at the clock and he felt a wide grin stretching across his lips. _It's finally Christmas!_ He giggled madly and finally turned, grabbing the remote and he paused the movie, which really only had about fifteen or so minutes left, but he couldn't help it. He didn't _want_ to wait any longer.

"Hey!" Mark whined, frowning when the movie was paused and everyone turned to the childish Mute.

"What the hell was that for!?" Tony grumbled, though he didn't care for the movie, the sooner it was over with, the sooner he could get to bed. Lionel only shook his head, eyes sparkling in the light of the candles that Steve had lit fifteen minutes earlier.

"It's midnight~" he purred and Loki was the first to realize what he was talking about, and Lionel only confirmed what he thought when he continued with, "it's finally Christmas!"

"Christmas..." Natasha murmured, smirking a little and Clint and Mark looked at each other before looking back at Lionel, both looking like fish out of water.

"Heh, that's what you're so excited about?" Tony laughed and shook his head while Steve smiled, hugging Tony tighter against him.

"Yes!" Lionel laughed and nodded to the lit Christmas tree. "Presents! You guys have to open your presents now!"

"Lionel, can't that wait until the morning?" Loki questioned, genuinely amused, but the Mute only shook his head fiercely.

"No!" He whined, crawling over to the tree and he pouted like a child, crossing his arms, his tail thumping on the ground beside him and his ears were lowered, completely the most effective little kitty pout ever created. Steve was the first to give in and he nodded his head, much to Lionel's delight.

"Alright, but once we open your presents, we really should finish the movie and head off to bed, okay?" He said, and Lionel nodded his head in agreement, hearing the murmurs from everyone else who agreed with the captain.

"Alright first off, I wanted to show you guys these," Lionel smiled cutely, pulling out a box that was wrapped in pretty white sparkling paper with snowflakes on it. "I found these while shopping and everyone has there own!" he purred and pushed the box towards Loki, wanting the god to open it.

"Why does Loki get to open it?" Mark whined, but unsurprisingly he was ignored as Loki carefully unwrapped the paper, opening the box within and he stared, wide eyed, at the items inside the box. Reaching inside, he took out one of them and it revealed itself to be... a little Thor doll.

"Dolls...?" Clint questioned, scrunching his nose up, but that only earned a doll to the face and he whined, but shook his head and looked at the doll, seeing that it was one of him. "Hey, not bad... Doll me looks pretty cool," he snickered and Mark laughed.

"Not as cool as Doll me!" He held up his own doll and his doll looked like him, only with firebird wings and tail feathers attached to his back and above the doll's butt.

"Pfft, whatever." Clint pouted, admitting that Marks doll actually did look a little cooler than his own. Lionel looked around and saw that Thor held his own little Loki doll and when he looked at Natasha, she was glaring at her doll, as if it were going to attack her. Steve and Tony held their own dolls, Tony laughing and mumbling something about his will pointing out something about Steve's that had the captain chuckling in answer. There was even a little Hulk/Bruce doll, but since the man wasn't there, the doll was left in the box.

Loki was the first to speak up though, and he looked at the Mute. "Where is your doll?" He asked and Lionel's ears lowered, but he shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Ah uh... they... um, they didn't have one of me, but that's okay." He laughed nervously when everyone's attention was on him before he changed the subject, "Now come on, you guys still have more presents!"

Steve tried to protest the change in subject, but Clint reaching for his first official present cut him off and soon everyone was reaching for presents and opening them up.

Eventually no presents were left, the movie was forgotten, and the entire family ended up staying up until the early mornings. It was only when Lionel was beginning to fall asleep against Loki's shoulder that Steve decided to call it a night.

Thor and Loki offered to take him to his room and when they got to the room, Thor put the Mute in his bed while Loki shut off the lights. "Merry Christmas, Lionel," he murmured to the now sleeping Mutant before going off with Thor to their own room.

"Yes, a very merry Christmas indeed," Thor chuckled and Loki only offered a smile back.


	5. Fright

**Words:** 2,163

 **Rating:** T+

 **Warnings:** Hurt/comfort, angst, light fluff, and light Yaoi (Boy Love).

 **Summary:** Everyone has fears, even the members of the Avengers. It just takes a slightly observant eye, a trusting heart and mind, and a broken soul equal to that of his family to figure them out. (Fright)

* * *

Everyone has their fears; whether known or unknown to the world. Lionel knows this and he has never forgotten it, despite being surrounded by the most prideful, egotistical, bastards that would never admit to being afraid of something even if that fear of theirs was running in the living room, screaming to the world what it is, naked and on fire. He also knew this because he's seen what all of their fears are; he knows this by fact because he's seen, first hand, what each of them, every member of his family, is scared of.

Some, he understands, have fears that are more complicated than he can describe, like Bruce-

 _He's seen Bruce three times, in the state of fear, and he remembers how vivid the look in the older man's eyes was. He'd been walking around the tower, trying to convince himself to sleep, though it never worked. Instead, he found himself walking down the hallway that had Bruce's room upon it; it was always habit by now to check up on his friends, when they all slept, but that was only to reassure him that they were still there. He always needed reminded..._

 _Bruce's door had been cracked open, a habit of his that Lionel's noticed because the doctor hated to be confined and when he was confined... doors and things were busted or broken. And the doctor himself was laying on his bed, the blankets thrown from his sleeping body, and his face was scrunched up in pain and fear and hurt. When Lionel had seen this, he'd been torn, but he was gone the moment that Bruce had woken up with a startled gasp. Lionel only left when he heard nothing more and knew then that he was meditating to calm himself._

 _He never figured out what Bruce's fear was, but in the end, he never bothered to find out, unable to because the man had always woken up before he could._

-and Natasha-

 _He's only seen the fear in her eyes once, and he knew what it was... but he hated that he knew. He'd been going down to the kitchen's for something to snack on, once again unable to sleep, when he saw her standing in the middle of the doorway to it. He was about to speak up, of course he was, but he'd not been expecting for her to go full on black ops on his ass, pinning him to the wall within seconds with her arm against his neck and a dark look in her eyes. "N-natasha...!" he choked out, clawing at her arm when he tried to breathe, but found he couldn't. He also noticed a tiny prick of something sharp against his chest and knew that she'd pulled a knife on him. "I-it's me...! L-lionel!"_

 _The moment that he'd seen the darkness recede from her eyes, he was immensely relieved cause then the pressure was gone and he was able to breathe again. He'd only caught a single glimpse of the horror and fear and anger in her eyes before collapsing to the ground, coughing harshly. When he looked back up, she was gone, and he was left alone._

 _He knew her fear then too... as bad-ass as she was, she was terrified of one thing and one thing only: hurting, or possibly killing, the ones she called her family._

-Clint too-

 _Honestly, he'd been surprised when he found out that Hawkeye had a fear. Not to say that he hadn't thought he did, because as said, everyone has fears, but Clint's had been... unexpected. The only reason he figured it out was because Clint talks in his sleep and one night, Lionel had passed by his room and heard the archer whimpering and talking to himself._

 _"N-no..." Clint choked out, clutching tightly at the sheets below him as Lionel watched him, eyes wide and fearful and worried, "p-please... d-don't leave... I-I..." he trailed off and tossed and turned, "I-I can change...!" Lionel knew then what he'd been afraid of... rejection. Everyone was, to some extent, but he knew that to Clint, this team, their family, meant everything to him and if they were to suddenly change and reject him, send him away and back... it would break him. And Lionel found that he had wanted to do everything he could to reassure Clint that would never happen; even if he never got around to saying so to the man's face. Lionel had then taken it upon himself to calm the man, spending every other night soothing Clint anyway he could._

-and of course Mark, the other hot-headed, bird brain of their little messed up family.

 _He knew Mark's fear, but that was only because Mark had told him, one night, when he'd gotten drunk. Lionel had found him sneaking out of the tower and he'd followed him to a bar; he'd watched Mark get shit-faced and drunk off his ass before deciding to rescue his friend from passing out on the bar. "Mark...?" Lionel questioned, frowning as he joined Mark at the bar._

 _"Lio-hic-nel! Friend! C-come, join-hic-me for a d-drink!" Mark laughed obnoxiously and the Mute sighed, deciding it wouldn't hurt any. He couldn't get drunk anyway, so he ordered the sweetest drink the bar had, ignoring the strange look from the bartender._

 _They'd talked, and then Mark spilled some of his darkest secrets for the first time and Lionel could only sit and listen. He'd been awed, for the first time in a while, when he learned that Mark's worst fear... was being forgotten._

Before the others, Lionel had already known Steve's and Tony's fears; they had been easy enough to figure out... but that had only been because Tony had told him, one night, when they were down in his lab.

 _"Tony...? Can I ask why you're always working down here, for days on end, without sleep?" Lionel asked, a little edge to his voice, but he figured he was a bit hypocritical at this point because he never got any sleep either, not that the others, aside from Loki or Logan, knew this._

 _"Huh?" Tony questioned, distractedly, before frowning, "Oh... uhm, that doesn't matter, can you hand me that wrench?" Despite being annoyed at the brush off, Lionel handed him the tool asked for before fixing a sharp glare at Tony, unable to help it. "Lionel, it doesn't-"_

 _"Tony... please?" He pleaded and Tony regarded him with a serious expression before sighing and he finally relented._

 _"I... I guess you could say it's a way to escape," he admitted, because he knew that if he didn't tell the truth, Lionel would not stop asking until he did, the Mute was known to have a stubborn streak like that. "It's hard for me to sleep nowadays, especially after everything that's happened. I get... nightmares of sorts, I guess, when I try, so I just... don't bother."_

 _"About... about_ _New York_ _or... or before that?" Lionel swallowed hard and Tony frowned, shrugging a little._

 _"Both," the mechanic sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I keep wondering if this is all a dream... one that I don't deserve, and I keep thinking that at any moment I'm going to wake up and be back at the cave..." he shivered and Lionel sighed, lowering his ears._

 _"It's okay..." he whispered and Tony chuckled wryly then, shaking his head._

 _"Nah... I guess it's about time you knew anyway... but, besides, I... Steve has enough nightmares for the both of us and I... it takes a lot to calm him down from them. And... how can I do so if I'm asleep too?"_ _Lionel nodded in understanding then and played a bit with his hair._

 _"Tony...? What is Steve afraid of?" he asked, hoping that Tony wouldn't mind him asking, but it took only two words for Lionel to truly understand._

 _"The ice..."_

Thor's was one that he'd never forget either, because he always knew when he was having a nightmare. It was always easy to tell, and it never failed to pain the Mute when he did-

 _The first time it happened, he didn't know what they meant. He'd honestly just thought that it was an honest to god normal thunderstorm. He was up, again... in the middle of the night, and he was just sitting on the couch, staring fearfully and sadly out of the large glass windows of one of the extra lobbies. Thunder boomed and lightning streaked across the black sky, but he couldn't pay attention, especially not when he picked up a sound, a cry, from one of the rooms a floor above him. "...Thor...?" Lionel whispered before deciding to go investigate._

 _What he found, was a god in pain with every possible emotion etched into his normally peaceful face. But he always found Loki, sitting beside Thor, whispering soothing words to Thor and brushing back the hair on his head. Lionel didn't know what it meant, but he knew that the moment Thor calmed down, the thunderstorm subsiding and leaving only a light drizzle of rain, that Thor's nightmare had involved his brother._

 _He turned away before he could break down himself and had finally decided to go back to his room, lulled by the rain and the remnants of Loki's soothing voice in his ears._

-and Loki... it pained Lionel to the point that he cried when he heard Loki's screams.

 _The first time, he had rushed to Loki's room almost immediately, eyes wide and his heart racing, only to discover that the trickster god was dreaming. He'd hidden before Thor had a chance to see him, lurking in the shadows, before going as far as he could away from the god and his best friend. The second time, he hadn't been able to bring himself to check on the other, his heart pained and cracking with every cry and whimper he heard. The third time, he left the tower completely and didn't come back until morning, being met with the sight of a panicked Steve, a distraught Loki, and an annoyed but worried Tony._

 _He hadn't done that again, but he still tried to avoid Loki on nights that he had nightmares, until he couldn't anymore._

 _"I know you're there," Thor rumbled, from beside Loki, and Lionel jumped, a sharp gasp leaving him. Loki was quiet now, his screams subsiding, but he never stopped shaking._

 _"I-I'm sorry... I-I'll-"_

 _"Wait...!" Thor's plea,_ plea _, had him rendered frozen and he swallowed hard. "Please... stay... it will help knowing you are here to wash away the pain and sorrow..."_

 _"But I... no, I can't... he deserves better than me... I... I couldn't... I kept running away... when I heard him..." he admitted, the guilt eating him from the inside out, but Thor only stared at him, in the darkness, a look of understanding in his eyes. Finally, he relented, and he edged closer to the bed before sitting on the edge, sitting still for a moment until he reached out, hesitant, and he brushed back Loki's hair, relaxing finally._

 _He never realized that Thor ever left until it was near morning and Loki had calmed down enough for him to go back to his own room once more._

He knew Logan's and Remy's fears too, but he had promised never to say anything about them, ever. Not that he's told anyone about knowing everybody else's fears, but after a rather scary confrontation with Logan, that was also strangely like a heart-to-heart, he had promised profusely not to ever tell anyone.

The only one that left was... Lionel, but being himself, he knew his fears better than anyone did. It was the reason that he never seemed to be able to sleep; the reason that he was so scared to lose his newly found family and the reason why he wanted so bad to impress them and keep them close to him for as long as he could.

Lionel's worst fear was more along the lines of rejection and abandonment, but it ran so much deeper than that. He was scared of being seen as a demon, a monster, by those that he truly cared about. He was scared of being seen as something to hate and fear. And he was truly frightened of being cast away by his family.

The only difference with his fear and everyone else's, was that he knew that this was something he would keep locked away forever. And unlike the fact that he was there for his family, he knew, no one was there for him; to soothe or calm him, to help him with the pain and fear.

He was fine with that though, if only because it meant that as long as he kept this from them, he would still have a family. The longer this was kept hidden, deep within the shadows, the longer he could pretend that everything in his life was as perfect as can be.


	6. Field Trip

**Words:** 1,316

 **Rating:** T+

 **Warnings:** Minor humor, hurt/comfort, light angst, and minor fluff.

 **Summary:** The Avengers take a little field trip on Lionel's request, but nothing ever goes their way. (Field Trip)

* * *

 _"Why don't we ever just get to do anything without there being anyone in danger?!"_ Clint complained, an arrow whizzing trough the air and lodging itself into a walking terracotta statue, smashing it into pieces. _"I mean seriously! When do we ever just get to go something without something like this happening?"_

There was a very tiny pause in the mic when everyone on the link heard the rather annoyed, very gruff answer from Tony, _"Never."_

-0-

 _"A... museum?" Mark questioned, slow, like this was some sort of riddle that puzzled him to no end. "You want all of us," he motioned around the room to everyone that was sitting in the living room, and Bruce, who was munching on a sandwich in the kitchen, "to go on a... a field trip to a museum...?"_

 _"Yes," Lionel purred and grinned at his little family. "I don't see what the problem is, I think it'd be fun!" he amended when he received looks of confusion and disbelief and disinterest from the others._

 _"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Steve started, shrugging, "we could all use the break anyway."_

 _"Yeah sure," Clint scoffed, "a bunch of supers going to a museum... what could possibly go wrong?"_

-0-

 _"This is all your fault, Hawkeye!"_ Mark bit out, so close to shifting, but everyone knew he wouldn't, not with this many kids around.

 _"Just shut up and focus on getting everyone out of the building! We need to turn off this stupid thing and stop the exhibits from coming back to life completely!"_ Tony snapped out and Steve sighed as Clint spoke up.

 _"Man, why do I feel like we're apart of that one movie, uh... what was it called? With the exhibits coming to life and shit?"_

 _"Night at the Museum?"_ Lionel supplied and he barely kept a smile off his face when he heard Clint's agreeing remark, shifting into a mammoth to take on the stuffed mastodon that was currently trying to attack the staff of the museum.

 _"Yeah! That's the one!"_ There was a confused noise from Clint when Natasha spoke up, growling at him, _"What?"_

 _"Shut up,"_ she hissed and he finally fell silent, much to the relief of Mark and Tony.

-0-

 _"Amazing!" Lionel exclaimed, twirling about in the center of the museum, underneath a giant globe of the world that had the museum's name spinning around it._

 _"Yeah yeah, come on, you act like you've never been to a museum before," when Lionel only stared blankly at Clint, he frowned and then choked on his laughter. "Oh that's just precious! Fluffy's first museum! Quick, someone take a picture!"_

 _Lionel was saved from hitting Clint on his own when Loki did it for him. Sending a grateful smile to the god, he turned and began marching in a random direction._

-0-

"Loki, hurry up and destroy that infernal thing!" Thor bellowed out, hitting a giant dinosaur skeleton with his hammer, only mildly surprised when the thing shattered and then reassembled itself.

"I'm trying, Thor," Loki shouted back, glaring at the strange device in front of him. Lionel could only barely pay attention as he was overthrown by the mastodon. He was saved from being stomped on when Bruce, hulked out, crashed into the creature and sent it back against the wall, part of it collapsing and falling onto the stuffed beast.

Nodding his thanks to Bruce, Lionel got up and shifted into a bear then, roaring at the stuffed creatures chasing after the kids. _"Someone get these kids out of here!"_ he growled out. _"Why haven't they been taken to safety yet!?"_

 _"I'm on it!"_ Steve said, jumping down from wherever the hell he'd been and he began leading the kids to safety, out and away from the building.

-0-

 _"Great... kids..." Mark pouted and Lionel smiled, giggling a little as he watched the little kids run around, teachers trying to rally them into behaving._

 _"Looks like we're not the only ones on a field trip, huh?" he asked and he only received a smile from his family as they continued to explore the museum. They had only just gotten to the grand dinosaur exhibit when everything had suddenly gotten dark. "W-what's going on!?" Lionel panicked and that panic sank deeper when he noticed how on edge the others were._

 _"Welcome my children," a dark cackle sounded over the intercom, "thank you for visiting this fine museum today. Oh I do hope you all have so much fun!" another laugh and then suddenly Lionel stiffened. "I know I will..." and then the voice was gone and panic ensued through out all the people as suddenly, the dinosaurs, both fossilized and not, had come to life._

-0-

 _"Thor, help Loki destroy that thing, I'm going to go find this joker and make him pay for this,"_ Tony's voice hissed through the intercom and suddenly he was flying through the building, disappearing down a hall somewhere on the third floor.

But then something was happening and everything had only gotten worse from there. _"Loki!?"_ Lionel shouted as the entire building shook when a sharp electric pulse was sent through the air, the darkness consuming everything once more.

 _"We must leave the building now!"_ Loki's voice floated through the mic, _"I've disconnected the device, but the entire area has become unstable!"_

And then they were suddenly rushing to save the rest of the people as the exhibits around them collapsed. Lionel shifted sharply into a dragon and flew up to the very top of the building, the large cement dome over the top of the shattered globe as the rest of the civilians ran out of the entrance doors below him and he tried holding it up as long as he possibly could, the strain pushing him down.

 _"Lionel!"_ Steve shouted, _"Get out of there!"_

 _"N-not yet... T-tony and a few others haven't... haven't... f-fuck...!"_ he gave up talking, his voice strained and he concentrated on holding the roof up.

 _"I'm on my way! I've got the joker and two stray kids that were near the bathrooms,"_ Tony said and Lionel heard him fly past the globe down below. _"Come on Shadow, let's go before the entire thing collapses!"_

Letting out a sigh of relief, he finally decided to drop down when he heard several cracks and creaks. But the moment that he let the weight drop from his shoulders, he was taken by surprise when the roof finally collapsed, caving in completely and Lionel had no time to react. He didn't even have any time to get out of the way as the cement collapsed onto his large scaled body.

 _"Lionel!"_ Loki shouted, his frightened and panicked voice the last thing the Mute heard before he blacked out.

-0-

When he came to, his entire body was sore, and he heard the sound of rubble and stone being moved. He didn't know how long he was under the rubble, but it was long enough that he knew people must think he was dead. Finally, the largest of the pieces was removed and light came into view, nearly blinding him and he hissed when he felt a sharp pain jolt through him.

He was barely even conscious when his friends dragged him from where he'd been. But the moment that they all registered he was in deed alive, everything had gone by in a blur of rushed comments, angered shouts, and crying laughter.

And then Clint spoke, "So... one hell of a first trip to the museum, huh?" and suddenly all of the tension lifted and Lionel choked on laughter.

"Yeah... you could say that..." he hummed weakly before collapsing again. This time Thor had caught him, and he was being fussed over by Loki again.

"Alright Fluffy..." Tony said, soft and smooth, "let's get ya home." and Lionel honestly couldn't have been happier to go back home.


End file.
